Carmelo is not returning to Denver this year

There are going to be a number of scheduling casualties because of the shortened 66-game schedule. Not every team will visit every city, so some places will miss out on big nights where Kobe or LeBron or Durant come to town.

Just the breaks when you cut 20 percent off.

One major schedule bummer: Carmelo Anthony won't be making a return to Denver this season.

The Knicks won't be traveling to the Rockies this season to take on whatever incarnation of a team the Nuggets have.

Obviously Melo's return to the Pepsi Center wasn't going to have near the vitriol or anger that LeBron's return to Cleveland had, but still, it was going to be a marquee night in the NBA. Any time a star that carried a franchise leaves and returns, it makes for good storylines.

Melo's departure wasn't all that ugly, but he did essentially force a trade out of Denver, leaving that team slightly a mess. To the credit of the Nuggets though, they recovered very well and made a playoff run, falling to Oklahoma City in the opening round of the postseason. But the effects of the deal are being felt this season as the Nuggets only have a handful of players under contract currently and are likely losing their best player in Nene.

So if it's to be a frustrating season in Denver, the shame is that the man that sort of has caused it isn't even coming back to be yelled at.